On Autopilot, Elon Musk Has a Friend in NHTSA Chief
His company’s product is under investigation by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, but Tesla CEO Elon Musk likes the favorable press the NHTSA gave to its Autopilot system.
Musk tweeted a link to a Wall Street Journal report that quotes NHTSA administrator Mark Rosekind praising the semi-autonomous driving system at a Detroit conference last week. The NHTSA is investigating what role Autopilot played in a fatal Florida crash on May 7.
In his speech, Rosekind said the automotive industry “cannot wait for perfect” when it comes to developing self-driving technology. The Autopilot-equipped Model S involved in the Florida crash didn’t recognize a tractor trailer crossing the highway, a fact (admitted by Tesla) that sparked a backlash against the system. Critics also slammed the company’s “beta testing” of an imperfect technology.
“We should be desperate for anything we can find to save people’s lives,” said Rosekind.
The administrator’s comments echo Musk’s feelings about road safety. Musk stands by the technology, insisting that it saves lives and will continue to improve. Despite calls to scrap Autopilot until it can be proven fail-safe, Musk has no plans to abandon the feature. Instead, he plans to help educate drivers on how to operate the system safely.
Road deaths shot up 7.7 percent last year in the U.S., and the NHTSA’s mandate is to reduce them. Low gas prices (and more miles driven) are to blame for the spike in fatalities. In March, Rosekind gave the NHTSA six months to develop a basic set of rules for autonomous vehicles.
Tesla’s Autopilot is also being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the National Transportation Safety Board.
More by Steph Willems
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Crap, the Teslites got to Rosekind. He's going to have to start his staff's jacket lapels over backwards to make sure there are no hidden party pins.
"Rosekind said the automotive industry “cannot wait for perfect” " THIS is what makes me keep kicking my cat! Another strawman argument! Is this not the equivalent of the DNC working for another anointed greenie Obama loved one? Is this not the NHTSA only without Wasserman? Grease the wheel for the EV Musk. Hell... NOBODY wants to wait for perfect. Everybody is for the best and now. We JUST want to not be manipulated with false advertising. Autopilot is nothing more than a background safety system that perhaps is farther ahead of others. And even this might be braggadocio. I dunno enough about all the systems now in use. . Perhaps others systems are just as good and work well in the background and are not used as misleading sales aids. As long as you need to keep your friggin hands on the wheel and basically drive and ready to take complete control in nano seconds...it is NOT autopilot! And the driver needs to be driving.